Mandatory evacuation order issued for Lynn Lake as out-of-control wildfire expected to reach town Sunday

Residents in Lynn Lake have been ordered to evacuate the northern Manitoba community as a fast-moving wildfire threatens the town this weekend.

Residents began to be flown out of the community at around 4 p.m. Saturday, hours after the town more than 800 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg issued a mandatory evacuation order.

An out-of-control wildfire south of Lynn Lake was about 1,600 hectares in size as of Friday, according to a provincial fire status report. 

Mayor Brandon Dulewich said the fire — which was detected Thursday — was expected to be within 6 kilometres of Lynn Lake by end-of-day Saturday, reaching town at some point on Sunday.

“We were told there was not enough resources to suppress it adequately before it reaches the community,” he said Saturday afternoon.

The evacuation order Saturday morning came shortly after town officials said crews had to stop aerial suppression efforts because the “fire generated its own storm system, producing lightning and only limited rainfall.”

Extreme fire conditions made it unsafe for ground crews, officials said. 

“There is limited crews, limited resources,” Dulewich said. “I fully believed that we would have adequate resources … going into this season, but that is not appearing to be the case.”

Roughly 600 residents living in the town were forced out of their homes twice last year because of wildfires, first in late May and again in July.

Dulewich has previously said a lack of manpower and firefighting equipment hindered the community’s response, calling on the province to help them stock up on gear like pumps and forestry fire hoses ahead of this year’s wildfire season.

Lynn Lake officials said in a social media update posted at around 6 p.m. many residents had safely left town using their own personal vehicles.

Several roads in the area were closed because of the fire as of Saturday evening:

• Highway 391 from Marcel Colomb First Nation to Lynn Lake.
• Highway 394, from Lynn Lake to the Saskatchewan border.
• Highway 396, from Lynn Lake to Fox Mine.
• Highway 493, from Highway 391 to South Indian Lake.

The last flight out of Lynn Lake Saturday is set to depart at around 7:30 p.m., with air evacuations continuing Sunday morning, the town said.

An evacuation centre was set up at the Victoria Inn in Brandon, with the Canadian Red Cross helping welcome Lynn Lake residents.

‘Reliving a nightmare’

Dulewich said the town was working with several agencies to make the evacuation as seamless as possible, but “it’s never an easy process.”

“We honestly thought that there would be more services, more plans in place so that something like this would never happen again,” he said.

“But here we are again, reliving a nightmare that a lot of us have still not fully gotten over.”

Emergency Management Minister Lisa Naylor said the province was working closely with local authorities to support the evacuation.

“We know this is a challenging and stressful time for families and communities,” she said in a statement Saturday.

Naylor said the province is working to ensure all evacuees have access to accommodations and support.

Manitoba Emergency Management Organization staff are on the ground to co-ordinate the response, she said.

Lynn Lake officials said mining and transportation companies in the area were on standby and ready to help with wildfire suppression efforts.

Crews will begin installing sprinkler protection systems around the Eldon Lake industrial area and continue working towards the town to help protect critical infrastructure.

The Lynn Lake Hospital will remain operational with support from Shared Health EMS, town officials said.